Malcolm X

Malcolm X (19 May 1925-21 February 1965) was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist. From 1952 to 1964, he was one of the most important figures within the black supremacist Nation of Islam, advocating for segregation and rejecting the Civil Rights movement. In March 1964, however, he embraced Sunni Islam and left the NOI, emphasizing black self-determination and self-defense. On 21 February 1965, he was assassinated by three NOI members.

Biography
Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska on 19 May 1925, and his home was burnt down by the Ku Klux Klan when he was just a child. Later, he moved to Boston, where he worked as a waiter and spent seven years in prison for burglary. In prison, he converted to Islam, and he became a follower in 1952 of the ascetic Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam, who sent him to New York City, where he worked in Harlem. As a brilliant spaker he became known nationally for his part in the Black Power wing of the Civil Rights movement. At first a strong advocate of black separatism, he was prepared to condone violence as a means of self-defense. In 1964, he quarrelled with Muhammad and left the NOI. After a pilgrimage to Mecca, he modified his views on separatism. He became an advocate of world brotherhood and formed the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Hostility developed between his followers and the Black Muslims led by Louis Farrakhan, one of whom shot him at a rally of his followers in Harlem in 1965.